After
a three-month voyage of 8,000 miles from Galveston, Texas sailor Larry
Toenjes, his one-person crew and his 37-foot sailboat, the S/V (sailing vessel)
Liberty arrived September 7, 2011 at 3pm local time, at the spot off the
Egyptian coast that is the site of the June 7, 1967 Israeli attack on the US
Naval vessel, the USS Liberty. The deliberate Israeli attack
killed 34 US Navy sailors and wounded 174. Toenjes sailed all the way from Texas
to bring attention to the deadly attack 44 years ago, and is conducting a
memorial service for those killed at that spot.

Since
he arrived in the Mediterranean Sea over a month ago, Toenjes has been in
communication with Commander Robert Palm, the Naval Attache' at the US Embassy in
Tel Aviv, Israel, about his concern that Israeli Navy commandos would attack him
as they had attacked other vessels in international waters.

He
had invited members of the US Embassy to join him to at the memorial ceremony to
acknowledge the deaths of 34 Americans.

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Embassy
officials declined, saying there was no boat to take them to the
site.

US
Embassy attaches say there is "No Guarantee of Behavior of Sovereign Forces
Operating in International waters"

As
Toenjes arrived off the coast of Egypt, in a September 7, 2011 email, Commander
Palm wrote Toenjes ...

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"We have no indication that the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) would harass your vessel, based on your reported route to the point of interest and then onto El
Arish.

"Your coordination with us has allowed us to share your intended path for the cognizance of regional maritime authorities.

"This however is no guarantee of their behavior as sovereign forces operating in international waters."

US
Navy Sixth Fleet -- We cannot guarantee the security of S/V Liberty

Rather
than joining in a memorial to one of its own ships and crew that were attacked
44 years ago, an email from an official of the Sixth Fleet to Commander Palm
said "The Sixth Fleet cannot
guarantee the security of S/V Liberty. Sixth Fleet recommends that if S/V
Liberty is concerned about its safety and security that it should return to its point of origin."

It
is not unreasonable for Americans to look to their own government for protection from forces that have acted with belligerence towards other Americans on the high seas on previous occasions

Toenjes
responded by email to Commander Palm about the answer of the Sixth Fleet
concerning his safety:

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"I
must say, I was a little taken aback by the response from the spokesperson for the 6th fleet. I don't think it is unreasonable for Americans to look to their own government for protection from forces that have acted with belligerence towards other Americans on the high seas on previous occasions.

"Do they take the same attitude towards American tankers passing through pirate-infested areas? If American weaponry is not to be used for the protection of Americans, then what is it for?

"My only concern for my personal safety
derives from possible irrational behavior of the IDF.

"My hope was that there might have been a suggestion from one friend to another to lay off. Hopefully, concern for their own self-interest has had the same effect."

Ann Wright is a 29-year US Army/Army Reserves veteran, a retired United States Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official, known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War. She received the State Department Award for Heroism in 1997, after helping to evacuate several thousand (more...)